For Black History Month, the ESPN host said that oppression is not an excuse for African-Americans to not live out their full potential.

This time, the ESPN host found himself “schooling” young Black students from the University of South Alabama claiming that racism isn’t an excuse for them not living out their full potential in life, says WKRG, an NBC affiliate.

During his “The Legacy, History and Impact of the African-American Athlete,” Smith came out his neck saying, “Racism doesn’t exist. Obviously, I’m lying. Of course it exists, but not for you. See, you don’t have to go to the back of the bus. You’re not denied the opportunity to eat at restaurants, or to enter night clubs, or to patronize businesses. You have the right to vote. You’re not being lynched. You’re not being hung.”

And yes! I felt the need to address how my message to the students at S. Alabama U from Monday was misconstrued: https://t.co/RaV7FsdE3i!

Yet, he backpedaled a bit admitting that older Black students do experience “real” racism though.

“You’re older, you know I’m not talking about you. But youngsters, you need to understand that white folks got problems, too. Some of them can’t pay their bills. Some of them are struggling. Some of them are being denied opportunities. And you need to understand that, because when people are going through their own problems, they are not going to lament what your trials and tribulations are,” he said.

He added, “That applies to them too in their world. So if they’re going through that, how could they possibly be sensitive to your trials and tribulations? That doesn’t mean that you don’t go through it from time to time. It doesn’t mean that you don’t have those experiences. It means that we will not allow you to use it as an excuse.”

So to be clear: America has changed so much between being a freshman and a senior in college, that 22-year olds and 18-year olds live in completely different worlds. That and because poor whites are struggling that means that structural racism and other forms of oppression are irrelevant in our lives. Try again.

Thanks Stephen for that clarification straight outta the GOP’s playbook.